Disclaimer: if only it were all mine

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. Just a warning – I have exams in a few weeks. I will try to upload the next chapter as soon as possible but it may be a little delayed if I don't get the time to finish it. Exams are stressing me out like crazy!

Chapter X

Present Day

"Are you trying to get me killed?!"

"No need to be melodramatic." Hermione chided as she popped open the jar of apple baby food. She cooed at her youngest child as he giggled in excitement.

"Melodramatic? You've got to be blooding joking!" He huffed with indignation. "You're pretty much throwing me to the lion's den!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband. If she was being completely honest though, the man did have a point. She had accepted a rather impromptu dinner invitation from Molly Weasley. As soon as she had heard the wonderful news, she had insisted on entertaining Hermione and family at the Burrow that very evening. Ginny had, however, conveniently forgotten to mention who Hermione was married to.

He pulled her towards him, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands. "Darling, I want to go for you but I'm pretty sure they will mutilate me the moment I walk into the room!"

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pulled him closer. "I won't let them. They want to meet my family and you are such a big part of that. If they don't understand that, then they won't be seeing me for a while. Besides with Harry, Ginny, Ron and Lavender there, not much can go wrong."

Draco sighed as he nodded, giving in as she stared at him with big chocolate eyes though he wasn't all that convinced by the end of her sentence.

XXXXX

Sighing for what had to be the hundredth time that day, he stood in front of the mirror. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a pale green business shirt, with its sleeves rolled up. An elegant chain hung around his neck with a small pendant in the shape of their family emblem.

He had been quick to abolish the traditional Malfoy emblem with the end of the War. The last thing he had wanted was to maintain any association with his ancestors, much to their displeasure. He didn't really think that wearing it would be a good idea but Hermione had given it to him on their first anniversary and he hadn't taken it off since.

Hermione rushed into the room. Her maroon summer dress lightly graced her curves, her feet adorned with golden strappy sandals. Her neck was adorned with a matching necklace, one in a much more feminine style.

Draco smirked as he took in their combined appearance. "I guess we can't quite let go of our House loyalties, hey?" He placed a chaste peck on her forehead as she laughed.

"I guess not. Old habits die hard." She sent him a playful wink as she entwined their fingers. "Come on, the children are ready. We don't want to be late."

Draco lifted Grayson into his arms, holding Jackson by the hand. Hermione clutched onto Adalynn and grasped onto Jackson's other hand. Once they were all linked together, she instructed her children to hold on tightly and for Adalynn to take hold of the wine bottle that was to act as their Portkey. As soon as the girl touched the bottle, the room spun and they found themselves outdoors.

A crooked building stood before them, smoke pouring out of the chimney. The enticing waft of a roast dinner met them. "Welcome to the Burrow, everyone. The home of the Weasley clan."

XXXXX

Though he would never admit it, Draco's lets were almost quivering as they approached the house as Hermione went into her pedantic mode. "Okay Draco, stand back a bit. Mrs. Weasley has a tendency for rather forceful hugs and I'd prefer to not go crashing into you. Hold the children; it'll soften her approach to you."

Draco nodded, quickly picking up his children – he knew better than to doubt his wife. The twins seemed to pick up on his anxiety, nervously clutching to his legs. Hermione took in a deep breath and placed two heavy knocks on the door.

"HERMIONE!"

The door flew open and the same woman that Hermione had known all those years ago was staring out at her, a large grin on her face. The plump, yet still vivacious, woman rushed out of the house and crashed into the poor pregnant woman with a tight hug.

That is, until she realized that Hermione was indeed pregnant. She let go of her quickly, resorting to affectionately caressing her round stomach. Hermione grinned at the woman before taking another deep breath.

"Mrs. Weasley-"

"Molly." The matronly woman interrupted her, eyes still focused on her pregnant belly.

"Molly…I would like you to introduce you to my family. This is my husband, Draco. And our children; Adalynn, Jackson and Grayson."

At the sound of Draco's name, Molly's head snapped up to stare at the man with surprise.

"D-Draco Malfoy?" She whispered nervously, glancing at Hermione for confirmation. Hermione nodded, rushing to reassure her that he had, in fact, changed and that they had been very much in love since their seventh year. But her assurances were of no need.

Molly's face had already split into a wide grin as she opened her arms. "So you're the man who has been keeping our Hermione happy, hm? And look at these children!"

Hermione reached over, taking Liam from his arms. The twins followed the baby and wrapped themselves around their mother's legs instead. The head of the Weasley clan grinned even more, if that was at all possible, before barreling into the blonde man with a tight embrace. "Welcome to the family, Draco."

Draco let out the breath he hadn't even known he was holding. With a smile, he returned the woman's hug and muttered his gratitude over and over again.

Molly felt the young man tense in her arms as a shout came from the kitchen. "Molly dear! Don't hog them – we want to see the happy family!"

She ran a soothing hand over the man's back before turning back to the woman that was like her second daughter. "Go ahead. I'll come inside in a little bit with Draco – we have much to talk about." She gave Hermione a reassuring wink before urging her on.

She waddled into the kitchen, struggling with the two children wrapped around her legs. Ginny, Ron and Harry sat back, watching her proudly as the rest of the family flew in an uproar. Shouts of her name were heard from all around as people ran to get to her. As she quickly passed Grayson to his sister, the twins rushed out of the stampede of people towards Ginny, relieved to see a few familiar faces.

Hermione felt the warmth flush through her as the Weasley siblings crowded around her. "Alright, alright! One hug at a time!" The crowd paused for a moment, moving away from her to give her a bit of room to breathe.

"I'm the oldest! I get the first hug!" Arthur exclaimed, quite childishly as he sprung forward. Laughing gleefully, she embraced the man who was practically her father. "So wonderful to see you again, Hermione! We have so many Muggle technologies to catch up on!"

She giggled as she moved to embrace the rest of the Weasley family, almost relieved when it was all over.

She made her way towards Ginny, clearing her throat softly. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my amazing children. The twins are Adalynn and Jackson. This little munchkin here is Grayson and this," she continued, laying a hand on her round belly. "Will be Chloelia."

There was an influx of praise towards the children as Hermione smiled proudly over her children.

"Blimey Hermione! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they were Malfoy's kids!" George grinned, chuckling at himself. The household erupted into laughter; all except for the Gryffindor Musketeers, Lavender and the very confused children.

Jackson frowned, crossly folding his arms in front of him. "I don't get it!" He shouted, sneering in a way that would make his father proud. "He is our Daddy!"

The room fell into silence, save for Harry who snorted in amusement. "Molly?" Hermione called out, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

Molly entered the room, her hand nestled in the nook of Draco's arm. They were still quite animatedly chatting, the woman laughing gaily at something that he had said.

"MALFOY?"

The conversation came to an abrupt end. Draco coughed nervously as Molly sent meaningfully threateningly stares around the kitchen as if to warn her family to stand tall against any rash action.

Harry frowned at the lack of reaction from the Weasleys. Nudging Ron firmly, he jumped to his feet. "Nice to see you again, Draco." He greeted, firmly shaking the blonde's man hand.

Ron stepped forward, faltering for a moment. "Um…yeah welcome…D-Draco. Nice to have you here." He stuttered, shaking his hand vigorously before quickly letting go and 'discreetly' wiping his hand on his sweater.

Draco and Hermione scoffed at his somewhat pathetic attempt to act calm and friendly towards the man he had always disliked. Ginny grinned, jumping from her seat. "Oh Draco, it's so lovely to see you again." She announced genuinely, embracing the man in a warm hug that he returned amicably.

Lavender shuffled forward, smiling awkwardly at the man. "I know we've never been friendly but welcome Malfoy." She extended a hand towards him. Draco smiled warmly before giving her a light hug.

The group expectantly turned to the rest of the Weasley clan. Arthur was staring in shock, his face an oddly pale colour. Molly would later explain that she had only ever seen him like this when she had first announced she was pregnant with Bill. He was staring at Draco rather incredulously but wasn't yet saying anything. That, however, was somewhat of a good sign as he was known to be a rash man when angered.

Bill and Charlie had their hands shoved into their pockets, waiting for their father's reaction. They had never personally encountered the Malfoy family. Percy's lips were angrily pursed, his arms crossed in front of him so that no one could see his clenched fists. Fred and t were simply staring open-mouthed at the man in front of them.

The two younger Weasley siblings were eyeing the men and though no words were spoken, the message was clear: make one move out of line and you will not be forgiven.

Draco breathed heavily, stepping forward with a shy smile. "I'd just like to thank you…all of you…for welcoming me into your home. I know that you all have reason to hate me but…I am truly sorry for what has happened in the past and for the way I was. Hermione opened my eyes to what love and life really was and I would honestly like to make up for all the times I may have wronged any of you."

Hermione smiled proudly, placing a loving hand on his back. "I know you don't have much reason to trust Draco – but you should all know to trust me and my decision. Draco and I love each other and our children. And nothing will ever change that." She said firmly, sharing a few heavy stares with Percy.

Arthur smiled warmly at the girl – no, woman – that he saw as his daughter. "I think we all know better than to question you, dear." He muttered, moving forward to greet the blonde man.

The other Weasley brothers followed suit. "Welcome, Malfoy."

A loud bark of laughter came from the corner of the room where Percy was standing, arms still firmly crossed over his chest. "You've got to be bloody joking." He hissed, staring daggers at Draco.

Fleur quickly jumped to her feet, upset with her brother-in-law. "Come now children. We shall go into the playroom, yes?" The Weasley wives followed her with the children, muttering about Percy's 'bloody temper'.

He scoffed as the rest of the room's occupants looked at him incredulously. "You don't belong her, Malfoy." He spat. "You're nothing but the shit beneath our shoes. Why don't you just run along back to your pristine mansion with its manicured gardens and get the hell out of our home?"

Hermione frowned at the man, raising her hand to stop Arthur from scolding his son. "Really, Percy? It is time to grow up and let go of old grudges and rivalries. Ron has managed to do so and let's face it, he was the worst of you lot…no offence, Ron." She added as an afterthought at the put-out expression on Ron's face.

Ginny threw her hands into the air with frustration. "Hello? Do you not trust Hermione? Don't you trust Harry, Ron and I? We've seen parts of what they've gone through. We've seen how Draco has changed. I can tell you that he is not the same as you may remember!"

Percy glared his sister. "You're deluded, Ginevra. Bloody stupid as usual."

"PERCY IGNATIUS WEASLEY! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR SISTER LIKE THAT." Molly screeched, pointing a threatening finger at her son. "I know that we all haven't had the greatest encounters with the Malfoy family but I know that I am personally willing to put that behind us. We have all missed Hermione dearly and I refuse to lose her again because of your childish, idiotic behavior. I had a riveting conversation with Draco just outside, concerning frypans nonetheless, and I must say he has exceeded my expectations. So you can behave nicely…or leave."

The irate redhead snarled at his mother, a loud 'Pop' signaling his exit. The room fell into an awkward silence before Arthur gave Draco a reassuring pat on the back and led the way into the living room.

"Ignore him. He's always been difficult one in the family."

The rest of the family slowly meandered behind them. Hermione smiled widely at Harry who gave her a thumbs up and threw him a wink. She moved behind the Potter couple, halting as she heard a frantic 'Shit!' burst from Ginny's lips.

The fiery redhead whirled around, her eyes wide with dread. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." She hissed, her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Ginevra Potter. What is it?" Molly asked sternly, raising an eyebrow at her daughter. Ginny had the decency to smile bashfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I may have forgotten to mention that I invited the Zabinis."

A/N: Please keep in mind that it may take a little while for me to upload the next chapter with exam stress. Review please!